Arrest in Pilar ends three decades of abuse for victim who had two children by her father

Decades of traumatic abuse came to end last week when a 59-year-old man who repeatedly raped and sexually abused his daughter over a period of 27 years, fathering two of her children, was arrested in Entre Ríos Province.

The victim, who like the suspect has not been named by the authorities, gave birth to two children as a result of the abuse, one of whom investigators believe may also have been subject to sexual abuse.

Court sources confirmed that the arrest was made in Entre Ríos Province by detectives from the Federal Department of Investigation of the Argentine Federal Police. 

After several weeks of surveillance and court-authorised follow-ups, the officers were able to confirm the exact identity of the wanted man, who has not been identified by the courts.

The case only finally came to light when the victim, who is now 35 years old, mustered the courage, with the support of her partner and local church community, to report the atrocities.

Prosecutor Marcela Semeria, from the Pilar Investigatory Unit Specialising in Gender-Based Violence, opened an investigation after an initial report by the victim on July 8, 2023.

“I was very frightened of reporting him, because my father threatened to kill himself, but also to hurt me. That’s why I continued to give in to the sexual abuse until recently, but thanks to the Church I found the strength to file the complaint,” the victim explained in witness testimony accessed by Perfil.

The abuse goes all the way back to when the victim was only six years old, living with her mother and siblings at her grandparents house in San José, Entre Ríos Province.

She said that her mother was physically abusive and that the family would look to her father “for protection.” 

The family’s move to Pilar around a decade later was a turning point, leading to systematic abuse. 

“First it was just about touching and showing. At 15 or 16 he started to penetrate my vagina and anus. At 16 I became pregnant with my eldest son, who is now 15,” said the woman in testimony recorded in the case file.

The victim suspects that her mother was aware of the abuse for years. “She would drink a lot and go out shopping when my dad came back from work. That was when the abuse would happen,” she said in testimony.

For years, the woman conceived strategies to protect herself and minimise assaults by her father, she recounted. She would exaggerate physical pain to make him stop and found excuses so as to avoid being alone with him.

“When my eldest son was born, I would even make him cry to take care of him during the night to prevent my father from calling me into his room,” she told prosecutors.

The victim’s torment became more intense throughout the years, even when she began a romantic relationship: “He had no boundaries. He didn’t care if I begged,” she recalled.

According to the victim’s account, when she told her father she would report him, he threatened to commit suicide, causing a constant fear which kept her in submission for years.

The man is currently detained on the order of Pilar Guaranties Judge Nicolás Ceballos, accused of aggravated sexual abuse against two persons.

DNA tests are being conducted to confirm whether the victim’s two children belong to the suspect.
 

– TIMES/PERFIL/NA